Richard Benbrook wrote his poetry and created his artwork in Northern California. Richard contributed to magazines; he didn't write any books.
Here are five poems under the title The Mean Alphabet originally published in ASYLUM ANNUAL 1994. Bask in their glory! Note: The large letter beginning each poem is all Richard Benbrook, a detail I find especially appealing.
is for Gridlock
All lovers are commuters
routinely subjected to the
deadliness of gridlock.
But it is the price they must pay
to dwell in Eden.
One of the many
bedroom communities of Hell.
G is for gridlock
G as in goodgawdalmighty!
is for Jonestown
Madison Avenue is to modern culture
what Kook-Aid was to Jonestown.
A savory libation, force-served to all;
full portions for the children.
Artificially colored, artificially flavored,
highly sweetened, packaged
with a big smile on its container . . .
and laced with poison
J is for Jonestown
J as in Judas
J as in jerked-around
J as in just five dollars over manufacturer's costs
is for cryptic
In the pursuit of love
we are archaeologist all
Searching through the labyrinth
of tunnels, trick corridors
and booby-trapped vaults
nothing separating us
from the absolute darkness
but our dim little lanterns.
Peering through yet another portal
we are suddenly dazzled
by glittering treasure inside.
Ah love, we have at last discovered it!
Blinded by happiness, we fail to notice
the hieroglyphs above the chamber entrance.
But deciphered or not, these chicken-scratches
spell alarm in any language.
"Behold," it reads,
"The king's ransom before you is now yours.
Let your eyes drink it, revel in this bed
of emeralds, rubies and gold,
for as you read, sand is rapidly filling
the passageway by which you entered."
C is for cryptic
C as in curse
is for science
Humanity hosts a party
and science is the guest of honor
His behavior however is abominable
He is rude and boorish, knocking about
people and things in an awkward attempt
to dominate the center of attention.
He is vulgar and flatulent, and has
for a grand finale
thrown-up in the punch bowl.
Still the hosts refuse to toss him out
A rumor persists that he is rich
and will at some point
start handing out gifts
S is for science
S as in Santa Claus
is for laughingstock
It is a fact most difficult
to accept
that our God is the laughingstock
of the celestial realm.
An incompetent bumbling idiot,
no doubt a brother-in-law of a
major mover and shaker
from some big-time galaxy.
Invariably mankind is held up as
incontrovertible evidence to support this
claim.
More disheartening and even more
difficult to accept
mankind was created in his image.
L is for laughingstock
L as in lowlife
American author and artist Richard Benbrook, 1948-2017
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